The beginning of my pregnancy was pretty easy with my son. To be honest, I loved being pregnant each time. I had the occasional nausea with my daughter but it wasn’t too bad compared to what I knew others had gone through. This time around I didn’t have too much of that. I loved watching my belly grow and the anticipation of holding a sweet little one. I loved maternity clothes and I embraced that belly bump. I loved preparing the baby rooms and thinking about what our little one would one day be interested in.
Pregnancy the 2nd time around was a bit different than my first as it progressed. It’s a new ball game to be pregnant the second time around. The first time if you are tired you can lie down. When you have a toddler and you are pregnant you may be tired, however you are still chasing and you on your feet a ton. My belly was so big that I grew to be crazy uncomfortable. If I had more than a few bites in a meal I would be in misery. I had to go to the ER one time because I was keeled over in pain after eating dinner. Luckily that turned out to be just gas. Did I really just admit that? Around 28 weeks my abdomen started to separate and around 32 weeks it was separated. It was ungodly painful; the doctors called it Diastasis Recti. It was really uncomfortable to walk and I felt it with each step. I sometimes wonder if it was from picking my daughter Ady up so much while pregnant. Let’s be honest though. How do you not pick up a child when they put their arms out? I was 5’2’’ and he was a decent size baby. I think there was just limited room in there. Looking back I carried my daughter Ady a lot while pregnant. She was a toddler and could walk but she also liked being held. I probably could have utilized a stroller a bit more often I guess. I felt much better at 32 weeks once my abdomen had done most of the separating but I was still very uncomfortable with each meal. I remember just how big that belly really was and even took a picture of it because I was so amazed at the size.
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It was November 3rd, 2013 the Anniversary of my Step Father Gene’s passing. In RCIA class we were discussing All Saints Day. This was a day my Step Father had always held dear to his heart. When it came time for discussion that day, they wanted us to describe someone who had been Saintly in our lives and why. I held back tears that whole class and actually passed when it came to me to discuss. All I could think of was Gene. He had raised me since I was 4. He was the most kind, generous, and loving soul I think anyone has ever met. I always think in the world it’s ranked, God, Jesus, then Gene. He was that good of a man. When people arrived at church I think they looked for Gene. They looked for his smile and when asked how he was he always replied, “If I were any better I couldn’t handle it.” His positivity and kindness radiated from him. He never judged anyone. He was the wisest and most hospitable person you could know and I was fortunate to grow up learning from him every day. He was my rock and when he died a piece of my soul died too. So as I left the class that day, 9 months pregnant and walking to my car I almost lost it. Of course I parked on the wrong side of the campus-like parking lot. My body hurt so bad as I walked because I was so uncomfortable and when I sat in my car I closed my door and cried my eyes out remembering Gene. It had been 7 years since he passed and the pain was still that deep for him. Of course I was crazy hormonal too. When I got home I walked in the house and grabbed the leftover Halloween chocolate. About 5 bite sized Twix candy bars later and a few more tears… I felt the gush of water… we headed for the hospital.
Upon arrival, I made them test the water before I was going to let them admit me. I had been to the hospital now twice with false alarms. It turns out I was leaking amniotic fluid but it had not ruptured yet. I was put on Pitocin to speed up the process after not progressing. The nurse offered me Nubain before my epidural. She said it was like having a glass of wine before the epidural to help me relax. My main nurse pushed for me to start with a half a dose. She warned that some people get a little nauseated and I should start with a half dose to be safe. I was so nervous again for the epidural I opted in. From the moment I had the Nubain the room started spinning rapidly like I was in a video game. I started vomiting and would continue to vomit all night long. Thank goodness I was only given the half dose! I had the epidural in between vomiting and I remember the girl hitting a nerve about 3-4 times while threading the epidural. I think they were training her and I was so sick to my stomach from the Nubain that I don’t even think I was comprehending what was taking place. From the Pitocin strengthening my contractions, although I didn’t feel them my body would tense and shake profusely when I had a contraction. The feeling was like in the dead of winter and you get into your car and you feel that cold sensation down your back as you tense. Yeah, I had that all night long, shook and vomited. So needless to say, labor stunk this time around, not that it is ever a picnic. I continued to vomit and my husband continued to sleep. I knew he would need it and what could he really do. The nurse took care of me. It wasn’t until the doc came in, in the morning and said it was time to push that she found out I had been vomiting all night. She said. “Give her a Zofran.” I stopped vomiting almost instantly. Are you freaking kidding me? No one thought to give me that hours before? I pushed a solid hour. When Andrew came out, he screamed as all little ones do. I reached out and grabbed him from the doctor’s hands and brought him close to me. All I could do was hold that little miracle. I can’t even believe I grabbed him from the doc but I wanted him in my arms so bad. And I comforted him and gave him gentle sushes to tell him it was ok. I remember the doctor saying something to the effect of, “wow I have never seen anyone so calm about this.” Or something to that effect. The instant love I had for Andrew was the most beautiful thing. They cleaned up my lil man. He was 8lbs 5.2 oz. He was the most beautiful little boy I had ever seen.
In the hospital family and friends visited. I was pretty calm this time around. Andrew latched on no problem. When the lactation consultants would come in to check on me I would tell them things were going great and we had things under control. Andrew was only nursing for 5 or 10 minutes sessions, shorter than Ady did but he seemed to have the hang of it and he nursed frequently. My husband stayed the first night. We were all pretty pooped out that night. The second night I sent Joe home to be with Ady and relieve my mother. I told him, “I got this!” I will never forget that night in the hospital. Andrew screamed all night. The hospital was practicing “rooming in” where the babies stay in your room. We did that with Ady too and I preferred that. I couldn’t put Andrew down. If he was sleeping and I put him down he would wake up screaming. One nurse commented, “This is a baby that will always need to be held.” That comment will stay with me forever. Another nurse that night, literally came in the room and took him out for an hour because she felt so bad that he wouldn’t stop screaming. It was blamed on my milk not coming in quick enough. I was pretty confident in my nursing abilities and I was pretty confident the milk was there.
Not only had Andrew been so miserable in the hospital but I was wiped out and my back was in wicked pain from the labor. All that tensing, shaking and throwing up really did a number on me. I couldn’t even stand up straight. If this ever happens to you, drive right to your chiropractor. My chiropractor saw me on the drive home from the hospital. I don’t know what he did to me but he sure fixed me right up. I guess you have hormones after you deliver that really improve adjustments. Let me tell you he took my pain away so fast. I was immediately relieved and able to walk with ease. I don’t know what I would have done without him that day. I was fortunate that he was able to help me because I needed to be able to focus on my new baby boy.
